Themes of the Quranic Story of the Prophet Joseph in Contemporary Persian Poetry

During years, poets and authors of the Islamic world have been impressed by the holy Quran owing to its rich content as well as its exalted moral values. This influence has sometimes been manifested in the works of such poets in the forms of adaptation and insertion and sometimes accompanied with images, forms of thought, or a figurative speech like allusion, metaphor, allegory, codes, and other strategies of creating mental imagery. The reason why the poets have been affected by the holy Quran lies in two significant factors, first the level of familiarity with this sacred word of Allah (Quran) and pondering over its profound and precise meanings; and second the level of their faith in Islam and the holy Quran as well as their desire and tendency to promote and publicize its meanings and values. The rhetorical method of allusion and the use of story elements like the well, prison, love, and shirt are more frequent in contemporary poetry. The Prophet Joseph in contemporary Persian poetry is a symbol of innocence and purity and the beloved of Imam Mahdi. There are very few poets who have considered Joseph (pbuh) from the perspective of wisdom, prophethood, and governance.